'The colonel is working on it..' is the message from KFC to disgruntled customers in Leeds and across the country after the chain was forced to close hundreds of stores.

A new delivery partner is apparently to blame, having failed to successfully deliver fresh chicken to KFC's 900 branches. And let's be honest, what would KFC be without the chicken?

Only the stores on Roundhay Road in Harehills and on Otley Road in Headingley were listed as open in Leeds when a statement was issued at 5.48pm on Sunday.

There are 14 stores in the city in total so if anyone is thinking of heading out for a fried chicken fix, they might have to think again.

KFC on Stanningley Road, Armley

A closure notice was taped to the door of the Armley KFC on Stanningley Road this morning, explaining 'it has had a few hiccups with the delivery today'.

Frustrated fried chicken lovers have taken to social media to voice their disappointment at the news:

In a statement, published initially on KFC's official website at 9.40pm last night, it read:

"We’ve brought a new delivery partner on board, but they’ve had a couple of teething problems – getting fresh chicken out to 900 restaurants across the country is pretty complex.

"We won’t compromise on quality, so no deliveries has meant some of our restaurants are closed, and others are operating a limited menu, or shortened hours.

"We know that this might have inconvenienced some of you over the last few days, and disappointed you when you wanted your fried chicken fix - we’re really sorry about that.

"Shout out to our restaurant teams who are working flat out to get us back up and running again.

"Hope to see you in our restaurants soon."

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